By Glenys Sim - Aug 22, 2011 11:20 PM PT
Gold advanced to an all-time high above $1,910 as investors sought to protect their wealth against financial turmoil amid speculation that the global economy is slowing. Platinum gained to the highest in more than three years.
Bullion for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.8 percent to $1,913.50 an ounce before trading at $1,901.23 an ounce at 2:06 p.m. in Singapore. The metal is up 16.8 percent in August, heading for its best monthly performance since September 1999. Silver gained to the most expensive in more than three months.
“Gold has continued to blast ahead even with a relatively strengthening U.S. dollar, strongly performing treasuries and other safe havens,” Peter Richardson, chief metals economist at Morgan Stanley Australia Ltd., said by phone from Melbourne. “All of that tells me that this is really all about preserving real purchasing-power.”
The metal is gaining for an 11th year, advancing 34 percent, as holdings in exchange-traded products reached a record on Aug. 8 and central banks added to their reserves for the first time in a generation. George Soros, the billionaire investor, cut his holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust this year as prices rallied, while billionaire John Paulson maintained the largest stake, according to regulatory filings.
Gold Records
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke may signal additional measures to stimulate the economy at a meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming this week, potentially weakening the dollar.
Yields on U.S. Treasuries touched record lows this month as global equities slumped.
December-delivery gold rose as much as 1.4 percent to a record $1,917.90 an ounce. Bullion priced in euros, sterling, Swiss francs, South African rand and Australian and New Zealand dollars jumped to all-time highs. June-delivery gold on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange and December-delivery metal on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed to their highest ever.
“Things aren’t looking particularly positive,” said Darren Heathcote, Sydney-based head of trading at Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd. “The market is very, very skittish” and “it wouldn’t surprise me to see gold push higher in the current environment,” he said.
Gold Margins
The Shanghai Gold Exchange will increase the trade margin requirement for its gold forward contracts for the second time in a month following recent rapid increases in gold prices. Margin requirements will be raised to 12 percent from 11 percent from settlement on Aug. 25, to prevent risks, keep the market stable and protect investors’ interests, the bourse said in a statement posted on the website today.
CME Group Inc., the world’s futures market, hiked the initial and maintenance margins on its gold contracts by 22 percent from the close of business Aug. 11. It last boosted gold margins on Jan. 20 and decreased them on June 20, according to data on its website.
Spot silver climbed as much as 1.1 percent to $44.25 an ounce, the highest since May 3, and traded at $43.5725 an ounce. December-delivery silver jumped 2.1 percent to $44.295. Cash platinum advanced as much as 0.7 percent to $1,916.75 an ounce, the highest price since July 2008, and traded at $1,910. Palladium fell 0.4 percent to $761.25.
To contact the reporters for this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net
No comments:
Post a Comment